The county’s position is that a sign proclaiming a “designated free speech area” in a St. Johns County park is there to ensure there is sufficient space for those who want to assemble and demonstrate.

But some, including members of the St. Augustine Tea Party, are questioning the constitutionality of the sign and are seeking its removal. County commissioners asked to hear a briefing on the issue Tuesday.

A cup with a bloody history and a cigarette case given after a divorce are a couple of items from Russia’s past that people gathered to see at the Lightner Museum on Wednesday morning.

About 40 people heard Lightner Museum curator Barry Myers Jr. give the inside scoop on some of the highlights of the museum’s Russian collections. The tour was inspired by the movie “Anna Karenina” and featured objects from Imperial Russia.

Fishermen rescued three men from the water near the Matanzas Inlet around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The three were out fishing near the inlet when the motor of the boat they were renting stalled and began to drift toward a nearby sandbar on the north shoals. Waves began swamping the boat which started taking on water, said St. Johns County Fire Rescue spokesman Matthew Sara.

The men left their 16-foot Carolina skiff and swam to the sandbar, but the waves were rough enough that two of the men slipped off and were floundering in the water.

Artist Alan Traynor pulled a fake hen out of a bag and placed it on his head.

“This is Henrietta,” he said. “She’s been my mascot for 10 years or so.”

Traynor, “the egg man,” has painted wooden eggs since 1991. He is one of an estimated 100 artists who are displaying their work at the second annual Old Town Art & Craft Show at Francis Field in downtown St. Augustine.

“I just love the shape of an egg,” Traynor said. “I guess I’m a miniaturist at heart.”

Traynor’s first venture into egg painting was a failure that led to success.

Construction crews at Flagler College worked in the cold again Friday, setting terra cotta roof tiles on the wings of the solarium.

The roof work is part of a $2.3 million restoration project at the college.

College President William Abare said planning for the overall project has been in the works for at least a decade and includes additions of new rooms and repainting the solarium, which hasn’t been used since the 1970s.

“The solarium is the focal point of the whole project,” Abare said. “It’s pretty much going to be the same as it was when the hotel opened.”

Twelve years ago, Aeppli arranged an event to provide a free meal on Christmas Day to those in need. He said it was something that God led him to do.

The first meal that was served fed 40 people. On Tuesday, volunteers served more than just turkey and ham to the roughly 200 people who showed up at the Willie Galimore Center on Riberia Street. They also provided prayers and supplies to homeless and less fortunate.

Holiday wreaths covered the walkway Saturday at St. Augustine National Cemetery, outlining a green and red path through rows of headstones and grave markers of deceased military veterans and their spouses.

Early that morning, volunteers had unloaded wreaths from a truck and placed them along the path. Later, others carried one to each of the 1,218 grave markers in the cemetery.

Roughly 200 people attended the Wreaths Across America event. At noon, the crowd gathered for a moment of silence led by retired Sgt. Maj. Ray Quinn, Florida Army National Guard.